Jain monk Sagarchandra Sagar Suri Maharaj explains ‘Updhan tap'

All happiness is dependent on people, relationships, car, houses, money and so on; which in turn is dependent on other people and things. But in reality, the happiness that is within us, which is also called ‘atma’ is independent of anything or any person.

To understand more about it and practise it, we have initiated something called ‘updhan tap’. Up means ‘something that is within us’ and dhan means assimilate.  And tap means discipline.

 This tap or course is divided into three different time durations under which the participants are expected to stay at the temple, follow a routine of activities and adhere to several rules and regulations. Some of the rules include eating once in only 48 hours, drinking only boiled water, should abstain from harming any form of life, should not use lights, fans, air-conditioners and mobiles; cannot wear shoes, can’t access motorised vehicles, have to sleep on a cot without a mattress, cannot keep or spend money, cannot bathe throughout the tap course, allowed to keep only two pairs of clothes and cannot wash these clothes.

When it comes to food, only the consumption of pulses is allowed. Apart from these, the participants are allowed to meet their family members only once a week.

Having proposed this, we opened it for registrations and received 110 entries and 70 of them are undergoing the ‘updhan tap’. These courses are divided into three time frames, one of 47 days, 18 days and 28 days. We’ve had participants as young as 11-year-old and the oldest is 82-year-old. Their day starts at four in the morning and ends at 10 in the night.

The schedule involves sessions of meditation, chanting, prayers and discussion with the monks. It also involves fasting the whole time and eating pulses only once in two days and drinking boiled water only few times a day.       
The intention here is to make them understand that to find happiness, a person doesn’t need to indulge in various things of life. This happiness that is derived from these sources are short lived and in its absence, people tend to look, again, for other things or depend on more people to be happy. This, is a cycle and keeps on going on till we die. This tap, gives a chance to think and experience what it is to live without all the things and people. It helps them to calm themselves and test if at all, we can still be happy in spite of nothing.

Since these participants are sort of isolated and have to live in an ascetic way, it makes them mentally tough. It helps them understand that emotional dependence on people and things can be reduced and the learning to be happy without a lot of things and people is achievable. This in the longer run moulds them to face life and its adversities with greater understanding.

It also helps these participants to maintain inner calmness despite all the social chaos and conflicts. A live example of how this tap helps people is that while the course was going on, demonetisation happened. The participants here were informed about the discontinuation of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes and it didn’t affect them in the slightest way. This is the idea behind the tap.

(As told to Pooja Patel)